jray3 wrote:Yes, the snow tires have remained a bargain for these cars. I can only guess that they were over-produced and need to dump aging inventory. Please let us know what your date codes come in at.

Update on the Achilles rear tires. After a very dry August, Seattle has finally received some real rain, and I'll report that the Achilles wet traction is definitely worse than the Dunlop EnaSaves, at least when aired up to 40 psi. Full power from stop going around a wet corner will induce significant traction control spasms.... This has persisted past the first few sprinkles and yesterday's downpour, so I'm confident it's not just the oil sheen coming up on our roads from a dry summer.

I'm now one year, all seasons on the Dunlops. Got the car one year old with 450 miles. I really like the Dunlops and feel that they perform very well in all conditions, roll very well, and work perfectly with the car's traction control. A very well balanced tire in my opinion and I'd definitely buy them again and be glad to pay the bill.

Appreciate the report! I'm not sure I would have noticed. Your post about 'full power around a corner from a stop' got me to thinking - Don't think I've ever done that in the wet or the dry

The OEM Dunlops I took off my car when I put the Mini wheels on still had half tread or better after 25,000 miles . . . . maybe a tad less than half on the fronts and a tad more than half on the rears. I really do notice a difference in the understeer with the 175's on the front though, so I'm slowly getting a bit more 'sporty' in my driving

The Continentals I have on the car now make it drive more like a 'normal' car, which I really like - We'll see how they wear . . . . . in another 5 or 6 years

Don wrote:full power around a corner from a stop' got me to thinking - Don't think I've ever done that in the wet or the dryDon

Yup, applying full power at the apex of a wet turn when already at speed may kick on the safeties too, but it's usually more dramatic when turning at very low speed, when one wheel breaks loose and spins quickly, rather than just a bit of clawing at the tarmac... I've only managed to push it past drifting and bring on full ASC/ABS once the past 91,000 mostly soggy miles. The car didn't spin out or even slide out of its lane, but required a quick restart!

jray3 wrote:Update on the Achilles rear tires. After a very dry August, Seattle has finally received some real rain, and I'll report that the Achilles wet traction is definitely worse than the Dunlop EnaSaves, at least when aired up to 40 psi. Full power from stop going around a wet corner will induce significant traction control spasms.... This has persisted past the first few sprinkles and yesterday's downpour, so I'm confident it's not just the oil sheen coming up on our roads from a dry summer.

Thanks for the review. We get our share of rain here in PA (snow too), so your experience pretty much sours me on the ART Sport. (It was kind of expected since the tread looks like your typical big-block summer tire.) But Achilles also makes the 122 all-season tire in the same size. (176/60R15 rear only. Thanks to the Smart ForTwo there are more choices for 145/65R15 fronts.)

I just got front tires and I don't need rears yet, but that time will come. And our selection of rear tires in the standard size is really small. If anyone is looking to replace their rears soon, please give the Achilles 122 a look. At only $47(!) each it's hard to go wrong (found it on tires-easy.com, who also has a 45 day return policy), and the i-MiEV community needs to know if this is a decent replacement.

If no one bites before I need tires I'll do it, but sooner is better for all of us.

jray3 wrote:Update on the Achilles rear tires. After a very dry August, Seattle has finally received some real rain, and I'll report that the Achilles wet traction is definitely worse than the Dunlop EnaSaves, at least when aired up to 40 psi. Full power from stop going around a wet corner will induce significant traction control spasms.... This has persisted past the first few sprinkles and yesterday's downpour, so I'm confident it's not just the oil sheen coming up on our roads from a dry summer.

Thanks for the review. We get our share of rain here in PA (snow too), so your experience pretty much sours me on the ART Sport. (It was kind of expected since the tread looks like your typical big-block summer tire.) But Achilles also makes the 122 all-season tire in the same size. (176/60R15 rear only. Thanks to the Smart ForTwo there are more choices for 145/65R15 fronts.)

I just got front tires and I don't need rears yet, but that time will come. And our selection of rear tires in the standard size is really small. If anyone is looking to replace their rears soon, please give the Achilles 122 a look. At only $47(!) each it's hard to go wrong (found it on tires-easy.com, who also has a 45 day return policy), and the i-MiEV community needs to know if this is a decent replacement.

If no one bites before I need tires I'll do it, but sooner is better for all of us.

I can vouch for the 122's, I've been running them on the rear about 1 1/2 yrs, they are quiet, don't reduce mileage, good in the rain, and wear well.The downside, since I live in Northern Vermont, is the after the first year the snow traction is very poor So I got some IceGuards on separate wheels for this year, nice tires (185-55-15). Also I've been running the Conti's stock size, on the front, those are fine.

While I had the Achilles ATR Sport tires off the car during Seattle's recent "snowmageddon", I had them siped at Les Schwab tires for about $18 each (Razor cuts across the tread). Traction is definitely improved. I've been unable to break them loose by applying full throttle on cold, wet turns.